The latest development in the Ethicon multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin filed pretrial order 48 about dismissing certain Coloplast Corp. entities from all pending cases.

Filed on May 28, the pretrial order in Ethicon MDL 2327 reports on the defendants’ request for the removal of certain Coloplast entities from plaintiffs’ cases in all transvaginal mesh lawsuits consolidated into the five MDLs presided over by Judge Goodwin.

Though the pretrial order will have more of an affect on the Coloplast MDL 2387 itself, due to the closely related injuries detailed by plaintiffs, pretrial orders filed in one transvaginal mesh MDL in the West Virginia court are often filed in all of the MDLs.

The most recent pretrial order does not mean that the Coloplast MDL is being disbanded. Rather, it simply means that any mention of Coloplast subsidiaries, such as Coloplast A/S, Coloplast Manufacturing US, LLC, and Porges S.A., will be removed from plaintiffs’ cases.

Following almost 3,000 adverse event reports citing problems with vaginal mesh implants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a safety communication in July 2011 noting their continuing review of vaginal mesh products and studies.

According to the FDA’s review, the most frequently reported health complication related to vaginal mesh involves vaginal mesh erosion. The FDA communicated that to resolve vaginal mesh erosion, women underwent numerous surgeries, and even then, the vaginal mesh implant could not be entirely removed, leaving women in extreme pain and discomfort.

Transvaginal mesh lawyers at Carey Danis & Lowe are currently investigating vaginal mesh cases, and encourage individuals who have been injured by a vaginal mesh product, whether Ethicon’s Gynecare Prolift, Coloplast’s bladder slings, or another product, to contact one of our personal injury lawyers today for a free legal consultation.